my bio

My path has, right down it’s center, visual art. I’ve been an artist in New York City for 25 years and believe that learning and creativity – whatever form they take – nurture us to the core of our spirit. I use the power of imagery and metaphor in my practice and my teaching… It’s the visual imagery of Tao practice that first drew me in and it continues to inspire me after 18 years.

Alongside art, I’ve always been drawn to explorations of spirit. In 1972, I happened on a lecture by Alan Watts that pretty much exploded my mind. I continued to poke around Yoga and Buddhism through the 70s and 80s—without much consistency or discipline—but I would always find myself returning to it.

In the mid-90s I fell in love with a rigorous martial art from Japan and trained in it for 18 years: Amagure no Sato Ryu Ninjutsu. I retired in 2013, but continue to depend on the discipline, clarity and focus it distilled in me. In 1999 I sought out other Tao practices to complement my martial training and began learning the Qigong, Neigong and Taiji of Universal Healing Tao. I found them so transformative that I’ve been using them as my guide ever since. They healed my chronic back pain and balanced my hormones. They strengthened and rooted my physical body. They grounded my emotional life and allowed me to shed tendencies that had obstructed me for years. Most of all, they offered a lens through which I could view my life and the universe… in a way that embraces nature, spirit and our human heart.

After many years learning these methods for myself, I expanded my practice first through teaching, then through energetic healing and medical qigong. In my current practice, healing and teaching are intertwined: I teach classes and courses in Qigong, Neigong and Taiji alongside my one-on-one training and healing practices and my students and clients take advantage of both.

the story of the tigers

I tried Judo in my teens, but let it go when I left high school. Years later, when I felt distance from my spirit and cut off from parts of myself (my calm center, my spark and aggression, my ‘gut’ and deep nature), I returned to the martial arts to rebuild that wholeness and connection.

I started training at a neighborhood dojo. There were few women – and none of rank or skill. As I struggled to learn the art, I was at a loss for models of power and clarity that were not Male. I finally turned to nature – and found powerful, unconflicted females from many species. The big cats, with their silent grace and power – and enormous loving gentleness – became my guides and inspiration.

The tiger moved me most: Her strength shines from her body and through her gaze. Her economy of motion and grace are unsurpassed. She stepped most deeply into my heart, and continues to live there.